GPU Buying Guide - (Read first post)

The GPU is pretty much everything when you're gaming, so you’ll want at least a Radeon HD 6670, or maybe even stretch for a 7750 if you can afford it...

Hey everyone
About five years ago, I put together a build with some help from this group—for myself and a few friends—and it honestly served us really well until recently. Now, my graphics card just kicked the bucket. Since this is an older rig with a pretty weak processor, looking at the massive amount of GPUs on the market today, I’m honestly lost on what to buy. I know deep down I probably should just overhaul the whole thing, especially since gaming is my main focus, but money is tight right now. I just need a temporary fix to tide me over until next summer when I'm planning to build a completely new PC from scratch. I've considered used parts as a last resort, but I'd much rather grab something new with a warranty if there's even anything left on the market that actually fits my current setup.

To give you the specs: I'm running a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 6000
on a Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H motherboard
with a Philips monitor at 1680*1050
and 4GB of RAM
powered by a Corsair 450W PSU

As for my budget, I'm trying to keep it as low as possible for something that works reasonably well—maybe around $167, but definitely no more than 600, just so I can run Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and Max Payne. Am I asking for too much? I used to have an HD 3870 in here, then switched to a 4850, and that could handle everything fine. I mean, sure, it wasn't running on ultra settings, but I don't really care about that right now; I just want to survive.

Thanks in advance for any help

fadedorca66 said:The GPU is the absolute heart of any gaming rig—so you really want at least a Radeon HD 6670, or if you can swing it, maybe even aim for a 7750...

So, I just grabbed an ATI Radeon HD 6670—it's got 1GB of DDR3 and a 128-bit bus—about half an hour ago! Now I'm just sitting here crossing my fingers that once I actually pop it into the slot, everything runs smooth as silk.

Dana Watson3 said:Hey everyone
About five years ago, I put together a build with some help from this community for myself and a few friends, and it’s been a great ride until recently. Now, my graphics card just kicked the bucket. Since this is an older rig with a pretty weak processor, I'm totally lost given how many modern cards are out there. I know the "right" move would be a full overhaul since I mostly use this for gaming, but money is tight right now. I just need a temporary fix to get me through until next summer when I plan on building a whole new PC. I might consider buying used as a last resort, but I'd much prefer something new with a warranty if anything even exists that's compatible with my current setup.

Basically, the CPU is a dual-core Athlon 64 X2 6000
Motherboard is a Gigabyte GA-MA69G-S3H
Monitor is a Philips 1680*1050
4GB of RAM
Power supply is a Corsair 450W

As for my budget, I want to spend as little as possible for something decent—say around $167, maybe $600 max—that can run Skyrim, Mass Effect 3, and Max Payne. Am I asking for too much? I originally had an HD 3870, then upgraded to a 4850, and those could handle everything. Sure, they weren't running at ultra settings, but I don't care about that right now; I just want to survive!

Thanks in advance for the help.

http://www.amazon.com/products/detail...i-256bit/55356
It'll run everything.

Alexander Moore67 said:it'll run everything.

I mean, I know it would work, but there's this one annoying little issue. They don't actually have it in stock, and I've already wasted some time checking through various retailers, but it’s nowhere to be found. Not a single one available. 🙂
Maybe someone could suggest something else? Please.

Check out Amazon or Best Buy—they’ve had them in stock before.

nothing

Dana Watson3 said:there isn't

did you try calling them from your cell?
Tel: (212) 555 – 0198

Jonathan Reed50 said:did you try calling them from a landline?
Phone: (212) 555 – 0198

Is everyone seriously messing with me right now? Of course I called, I did it immediately after that first response. Look, can we just move on to some other suggestions? I really want to get back to playing ME3, and I've barely even started!

For $200 you might pick up something like a Radeon HD 6670, which—let’s be honest—is a massive step down from what you're running now. In my book, it's a complete waste of cash, and honestly, you won't even have any fun with it on a new rig. I’d much rather hunt down a used 4850 for about half the price: http://www.ebay.com/itm/graphics-card-listing

Here is one for $200 that performs about the same as a 4870. http://www.amazon.com/products/detail...1gb-ddr3/45625 (Palit GTS450/1GB DDR3 Graphics Card)

Yeah, great, thanks, thanks, thanks. I guess I'll just roll the dice on this new power supply, though honestly, I don't really trust anything when it comes to PC components—it's always a bit of a gamble, you know? Like, my old 4850 finally kicked the bucket, and since it was used, those artifacts started popping up almost immediately. I tried the whole oven trick 😁 which kept it running for maybe three months before it finally gave up the ghost for good 🙂
Anyway, thanks again. Cheers, everyone

brightviper13 said:Check out this one for $200, it performs about the same as a 4870. Here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/p/Palit-GTS450-1GB-DDR3/45625 (Palit GTS450/1GB DDR3 Graphics Card)

As long as it works, the 450 DDR3 and the 4870 DDR5 are basically identical in performance.

Alexander Moore67 said:He’s basically saying that the 450 DDR3 and the 4870 DDR5 perform pretty much the same.

😬

The HD 4870 is more like an HD 6770 or 5770.

I mean, the GTS 450(DDR3) really struggles to keep up even with an HD 6670(DDR5)...

The Nvidia GTX 460 DDR5 offers a slight performance edge over the 4870 DDR5.

Alexander Moore67 said:I suppose the Nvidia GTX 460 DDR5 offers only a marginal improvement over the 4870 DDR5.

I suspect we're seeing weaker cards actually outperforming the Nvidia GTX 460. Maybe I'm misreading the data, but that seems to be the case.

Alexander Moore67, you haven't actually proven anything besides the fact that you enjoy mocking my posts. I'll admit I didn't read closely enough at first; I missed that it specified an HD 3870 followed by a 4850, rather than a used HD 4870 DDR5. My mistake, I guess.

crimsonstag84—where exactly are you getting the idea that the GTS 450 (DDR3) struggles just as much as the HD 6670 (DDR5)? I guess you could provide a source for that.

And also for... $200 What can really be said about choosing between older tech like the 4870 versus something newer like the GTS 450? I suppose it depends on what you're looking for, but it's a bit of a toss-up.

And you've been nothing but a headache since you joined this forum. Honestly, your comments have done more harm than good.

This is a bit off-topic, but I didn’t want to clutter things up by starting yet another thread when there are already way too many 😁...

I was wondering—purely from a practical standpoint—just how much of a performance boost would I actually see if I switched from single-channel to dual-channel RAM on an integrated graphics setup? (And just to be clear, I'm talking about standard onboard graphics on a motherboard here, not some fancy modern APU). I'm not planning on messing with any RAM overclocking or frequency tweaks either. Thanks in advance for any insight! 🙂

Hey guys, which benchmark should I actually use if I want to compare card performance?
Maybe 3DMark?
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu

Something like this?

So, I'm currently running an 8800 GTS 512 MB and I'm looking to swap it out—probably eyeing a 7750, 7770, or something along those lines... though I'm worried anything higher might be way too much for my CPU (an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 clocked at 3.6 GHz). I usually play at 1650x1050 resolution.

Looking at this benchmark, it seems like the 7770 scores more than twice as high as my current card. Does that mean I can pretty much expect a massive jump in gaming performance? I doubt it'll literally be double in real life, but there should definitely be a noticeable boost, right?

For instance, I'm playing Borderlands 2 right now with most settings on high, AA and AF turned off, and a few other stuff too (can't remember them all off the top of my head). It runs okay, maybe 35-45 FPS, though it dips below 30 when things get crazy on screen, but it's basically playable.

I got burned once a long time ago when I upgraded my rig with a new card and the performance gain was just... negligible. It left a really bad taste in my mouth, especially since I'd already dropped the cash...

If you guys know of any better benchmarks, please let me know! Thanks.

Lawrence Phillips said:Guys, which benchmark would be the most useful for comparing card performance?
Is it 3DMark?
http://community.futuremark.com/hardware/gpu

Something like this?

I'm currently running an 8800 GTS 512 MB and I'm looking to swap it out—maybe for a 7750, a 7770, or something along those lines. For anything higher than that, though, I'm worried my CPU might be a bottleneck (running an Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 at 3.6 GHz). My usual resolution is 1650x1050.

Looking at this benchmark, it seems the 7770 scores more than twice as high as my current card. Does that mean I can expect a noticeable jump in actual gaming performance? I doubt it'll literally be double the speed, but there should be a pretty significant leap, right?

For instance, I'm playing Borderlands 2 right now with most settings on high—AA and AF turned off, plus a few other things I can't quite recall. It runs pretty well at 35-45 FPS, though it dips below 30 when things get really chaotic on screen, but it's definitely playable.

I got burned once a long time ago when I upgraded my rig with a new card, only to find the performance boost was almost nonexistent. It left a bad taste in my mouth, especially since I'd already dropped the cash...

If you guys know of any better benchmarks, please let me know. Thanks.

Just tell us what your maximum budget is and we'll go from there.